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Tag Archives: Hope

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If You Have Faith – The Peace Will be There

By | September 15, 2010

The homily had just finished with a reflection of how peaceful Mary was in the face of some pretty disturbing things in her life. Just then the man sitting next to me at Mass leans over and says – ” If you have faith – the peace will be there”. I sat for a minute after Mass thinking about how right he was. The people I know who are most peaceful are the people I know who have the most faith in God.

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5 Things That Teens Are Counting On

By | August 2, 2010

In the Northern Hemisphere, Teens will be heading back to school and heading back to a parish this fall. As a companion of teens on their faith journey, there are some basic things that teens are counting on you doing and being. Here are 5 things that teens are counting on from you.

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3 Ways to Not Only Survive but Thrive On a Low Ministry Budget

By | July 6, 2010

So you have a great group of teens and you are psyched about how God is moving. But there’s just one catch: you have a low budget and don’t know how to keep up with other ministries that have all the bells and whistles. Well…don’t worry, do something about it. I keep hearing from Catholic youth leaders that they have a small budget or that their budgets have been cut. Most parishes operate on a budget that starts in July. If you find yourself in a situation where your budget has just been cut or you have always operated on a small budget – here are 3 ways to not only survive but thrive with less budget dollars:

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If You Want to Learn Current Teen Culture – You Will Love These Sites!

By | May 25, 2010

How familiar are you with teen sexting, girl bullying, club drugs or that teens are back into bowling? How up to date are you with today’s teen culture? Check out these 5 websites to make sure that Catholic youth ministry at your parish stays connected to the world of teens you are seeking to journey with.

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Stuff – In the Best (Catholic) Sense of the Word!

By | May 3, 2010

Let’s face it – teens like stuff! Teens lives are filled with “Stuff” – but is it the best stuff or stuff that merely clutters an already busy life? Teens want the fullness of our faith and one of the treasures the Catholic faith offers are rich traditions and symbols. Make sure that you fill your youth rooms and retreat centers with Catholic items. Items like rosaries, prayer cards and Saint Medals all reinforce the faith for young people. If you can, try to incorporate giving teens religious items when you can. It’s graduation and Confirmation time for many of us so here are some keys to gifts that can transform!

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If You Expect A Lot – You Will Get A Lot!

By | April 30, 2010

In my years of Catholic Youth Ministry I have embraced the concept of having high expectations of the young people we are trying to lead closer to Christ! As leaders we can’t sell young people short and expect less. Yesterday at a Catechetical Symposium I helped lead in the Archdiocese of Boston there was a fishbowl sharing experience that included some college students. At the end we asked them to give the youth leaders, DRE’s and Catholic school teachers present a word of advice. One young man simply said “If you expect a lot – you will get a lot!”

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Glimpses

By | April 22, 2010

- seeing the teen, who didn’t want to “get into it” because he was forced by his parents to go on retreat, standing in a large group of teens praying with his hands raised!

- hearing your DRE walking by your office humming the tune from the closing song at Teen Mass last night!

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Happy – It’s Not Just a Yuppie Word

By | April 20, 2010

These days the word happy is carelessly thrown around. Even Switchfoot wrote a song entitled “Happy is a Yuppie Word” that speaks of the emptiness of the word happy. For Catholics, happy is something much more. Here is why I believe it is key to our Evangelizing others.

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Things That Are Out of Date In Catholic Youth Ministry

By | April 14, 2010

Ever wonder if what you are doing is reaching teens? Here is a list of things that I consider to be out of date for Catholic Youth Ministry:

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Learning From 25 Amazing Years of Catholic Youth Ministry – Thank You St. Timothy’s

By | April 9, 2010

This Sunday (Divine Mercy Sunday) is the 25th Anniversary of the first Life Teen Mass at St. Timothy’s Catholic Community in Mesa, Arizona – where Life Teen began. Even for most of the parishoners at St. Tim’s the significance of this amazing day may not be fully realized. Imagine if your parish had strong youth ministry for 25 years?